Bidar
CEO's Note
Providing a Sense of Security The northernmost district of the state, Bidar has made the transition from focussing on savings and banking to focussing on women’s empowerment through livelihood development such as dairy farming, sheep and poultry rearing, tailoring, kirana stores and paper plate making.
Champion
A Will to Win Sanjeevini Champion: Nagamma, Bidar taluk
Determination helps one overcome many obstacles, and a strong will has helped this Sanjeevini champion in Bidar district break free of the circumstances of birth and build a good life.
All that Nagamma had going for her were courage and the will to overcome adversity. Her success is a testament to Sanjeevini’s role as an incubator which nurtures women members of SHG in their quest for becoming entrepreneurs.
Currently, there are 58,128 SHGs under the NRLM fold and they avail themselves of several government facilities provided by MGNREGA, and departments such as Housing, Women and Child Development, Health and Family Welfare Department, Revenue and others. Gyanendra Kumar Gangwar, CEO, Zilla Panchayat, Bidar, says, “The platform provided by the Sanjeevini NRLM scheme has given women a new lease of life by helping them and their families overcome poverty and helped them improve their standard of living and socio economic conditions. The scheme has provided a sense of security to these women who now believe that they can rely on Sanjeevini in times of need.”
Gram Panchayats, taluks & Gram Panchayat Level Federations have been formed
Master Book Keepers and Local Community Resource Persons have been trained to assist the SHGs on helping them run the organization, making them aware about the pancha sutras philosophy, community investment fund, revolving fund and assisting them in taking loans along with making sure all the schemes of the central and state governments reach them in a timely manner. In 2019-20, Rs.4.04 crore has been released towards community investment funds. A further 46 Block Resource Persons (BRP) have been trained so as to assist the SHGs. Self help groups belonging to backward communities have been provided special
42 | Sanjeevini
SHGs & households are under the ambit of NRLM
Nagamma and her husband, who are residents of Tuljapur village in Ekalara village panchayat of Bidar taluk, were daily wage labourers, with no land of their own. Uneducated and poor, her family of four had to make do with the meagre earnings of a couple of hundred rupees. She was beset with anxiety about the children’s future and the need to educate them well. During a mobilisation drive for self help groups by the Taluk Mission Management Unit of Sanjeevini in the Eklara village panchayat, Nagamma and other women learnt about the benefits of coming together and becoming self-sustaining. She became a member
of Jayalakshmi SHG under the Sanjeevini Shiv Parvathi Ward Level Federation and started saving a part of her monthly income. She informed Sanjeevini staff of her aspiration of wanting to earn more money, and the non-farm team along with the financial inclusion team suggested that starting a small flour milling unit might be a good source of income. The gram panchayat had very few such mills and there were none in her village. Nagamma grasped the opportunity and attended a training on micro investment planning with the help of capacity building staff of Sanjeevini.
training on ways to improve their livelihood activities and overcome poverty. In 2017-18, all the GPLFs were provided with Community Investment Funds and the SHG members were trained in utilizing internal lending and 410 SHGs used the funds to start various livelihood activities such as dairy farming, sheep and poultry rearing, tailoring, setting up kirana stores, paper plate making units etc. The SHG women members and their families were also provided training at Sharada - RSETI in entrepreneurship, expanding their businesses and in securing bank loans.
Nagamma established her flour mill unit with financial assistance from her SHG through a community enterprise fund (CEF) of Rs.75,000 and her own savings of Rs.30000. This proved to be the turning point in Nagamma’s life and has been of much help to the local villagers. Nagamma has repaid the loan from the SHG, and her monthly income averages at Rs.8,000 to Rs.12,000, a sizable increase from her earlier income of Rs.3,000. “Our standard of living has improved upon the establishment of the flour mill. Our status has improved economically and socially as well. I have requested the Sanjeevini staff to guide me further with training and financial assistance as there is scope for further manufacturing activities,” says Nagamma. Sanjeevini | 43
